Origins of Life, Natural Selection, and Evolution

Which is an accurate statement of the DIFFERENCES between spontaneous generation and biogenesis?

• Spontaneous generation is the idea that life can only come from life, while biogenesis is the outdated notion that animals arise from nonliving elements of their environment.

• Spontaneous generation and biogenesis are two names for the same principle concerning the origin of life.

• Spontaneous generation is the idea that life can come from nonliving components, while biogenesis is the more modern concept that life can only arise from another living organism.

• The concept of spontaneous generation recognizes that species generate offspring when environmental conditions are favorable, while biogenesis is the idea that life was created in a single event and has been unchanged ever since

Another accepted scientific theory describing the origin of life on Earth is known as endosymbiosis which proposes that eukaryotic cells came from prokaryotic cells merging together. Which of the following is the best evidence that would support this theory?

• Mitochondria and chloroplast contain DNA similar to bacterial DNA.

• Both prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms require oxygen in order to use energy.

• Bacteria, mitochondria, and chloroplasts all divide by mitosis. Cells containing them divide by binary fission.

• Bacteria and mitochondria contain many features that are similar to each other but they differ from chloroplasts

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS4-1

Which option places the likely events in the origin of life in the correct order?

• synthesis of amino acids and nucleotides > synthesis of a proteins and DNA/RNA > development of prokaryotes > evolution of eukaryotes

• synthesis of organic molecules > development of prokaryotes > evolution of eukaryotes > development of a genetic code

• development of prokaryotes > synthesis of organic molecules > development of a genetic code > evolution of eukaryotes

• development of a genetic code >development of prokaryotes > synthesis of organic molecules > evolution of eukaryotes

When lions prey on a herd of antelopes, some antelopes are killed and some escape and live to reproduce. Which best describes this situation?

• An individual passes along learned characteristics to the next generation.

• Natural selection is a random process.

• Individuals that are best suited for their environment tend to leave the most offspring.

• Species remain unchanged throughout time.

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS4-2

NGSS.HS-LS4-4

NGSS.HS-LS4-5

During a study session about evolution, one of your fellow student's remarks, "The giraffe stretched its neck while reaching for higher leaves; its offspring inherited longer necks as a result." Which statement would you use to correct this student's misunderstanding?

• Characteristics obtained during an organism's life are generally not passed on through genes

• Spontaneous mutations cannot result in the appearance of new traits.

• Disuse of an organ may lead to its eventual disappearance.

• overproduction of offspring leads to a struggle for survival.

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS4-4

NGSS.HS-LS3-2

NGSS.HS-LS3-1

During drought years on the Galapagos, small, easily eaten seeds become rare leaving only large, hard-cased seeds that only birds with large beaks can eat. If a drought persists for several years, then what should one expect to result from natural selection?

• Small birds gaining larger beaks by exercising their mouth parts.

• Small birds mutating their beak genes with the result that later-generation offspring have larger beaks.

• Small birds anticipating the long drought and eating more to gain weight and, consequently, growing larger beaks.

• More small-beaked birds dying than the larger-beaked birds

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS4-2

NGSS.HS-LS4-4

NGSS.HS-LS4-5

Darwin’s theory of evolution is based on the idea(s) of

• Change of a population over time.

• use and disuse.

• a tendency toward perfect, unchanging species.

• the transmission of learned characteristics.

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS4-2

NGSS.HS-LS4-4

Darwin had initially expected the living plants of temperate South America to resemble those of temperate Europe, but he was surprised to find that they more closely resembled the plants of tropical South America. The biological explanation for this observation is most properly associated with the field of

• meteorology

• Vertebrate anatomy

• biogeography

• Embryology

Which of the following is the explanation of why bat wings and whale fins are evidence of evolution?

• Similar functions point to a common ancestor.

• Analogous structures indicate a common ancestor.

• Vestigial structures point to a common ancestor.

• Homologous structures indicate a common ancestor.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

The number and location of bones of many fossil vertebrates are similar to those in living vertebrates. Most biologists would probably explain this fact on the basis of

• the needs of the organisms.

• a common ancestor

• the struggle for existence.

• the inheritance of acquired traits.

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS4-1